Free Plead Forgiveness (Loyalty Series) by Aury Dobsyn Page B

body and spirit. Like him,
when his men learned of the flogging she endured, they would know the true
extent of her strength.
    Unable to fulfill her wish, Gavin whispered in her
ear, “Shhhh. All will be well. Nicholas is learned in the healing arts, and we
will need his help to tend yer wounds.”
    When Gavin lifted his head, Nicholas, Tavish and
Osgood stood before him, completely horrified by the sight of Ella.
    Seeing the young woman’s slender back rich with newly
made bloody lash marks, Osgood cursed, “Merciful God!” Unfolding his plaid, he
quickly covered her nude body.
    Hearing the Macleod warriors around her and feeling
their eyes on the torn flesh of her back, pierced Ella with humiliation. Her
eyes remained closed when Gavin wrapped her in a warm plaid and carried her
back to camp.
    “Osgood, I will need plenty of hot water. Tavish,
clean strips of linen,” Nicholas called out as he kept pace with his incensed
laird.
    Nicholas and Gavin wore identical expressions,
seething fury masked with calm determination as they laid Ella on a pallet
close to the fire and rolled her onto her stomach. The blazing fire illuminated
the small clearing and exposed her body to all before Gavin covered her
waist-down with a dry plaid.
     With Nicholas on one side of her, Gavin on the
other, she turned her head to look at the latter. He looked infuriated, she
thought, but also oddly concerned. She suddenly jerked when a cold wet cloth
began to bath her back, sending chills and pain up her spine.
    Gave cursed, turned his gaze on Nicholas, and then
demanded, “I must ken what ye plan to do.”
    Nicholas finished cleaning her back, looked at Gavin
with sorrow in his eyes, and then said, “Infection has set in, and her wounds .
. . her wounds will need to be cauterized.”
    Ella flinched when Gavin suddenly jumped to his feet
and stomped away. She saw him move to the other side of the fire, silently
fuming. Moments later, he seemed to regain some balance of control, and
returned to kneel by her once again.
    “Ella,” Gavin began, “do ye understand what we must do
this eve? Cauterizing the lacerations. . .” He paused to take a deep breath,
and then continued, “Nicholas is well versed in healing and familiar with this
type of. . . of method of closing wounds. I am sorry, but this is the only way
to kill the infection. Yer back has gone too long without care. Had ye told
us-”
    Ella interrupted, and was barely coherent when she
mumbled, “Mmmy saddle baaag. Healing saaaalve, my . . . my . . . aunt. Yooou
must cauterize. Saaalve after . . . speeed healing.”
    Utterly speechless by her acceptance, Gavin and
Nicholas expected her to become hysterical, to plead against having a searing
hot knife close her flesh. She was a complete contradiction to all English
women, to any woman in fact.
    Gavin turned at the sound of twigs breaking under
heavy booted feet, and saw Osgood and Tavish approach; and their identical
expression indicated they too had heard Ella’s words.
    Tavish raced off to fetch her saddlebag, while
Nicholas explained to Osgood and Gavin what he needed from them.
    “I will use two daggers to quicken the process.
Osgood, ye will stay close by the fire to heat the daggers and give them to me
on my request. While I use one dagger, ye will heat the other, and then we will
exchange. Do ye understand?”
    “Aye,” Osgood said strongly.
    “Good,” Nicholas replied before he looked across
Ella’s back and saw Gavin gingerly smooth hair away from her face. With the
exception of his mother and sister, it was rare for his laird to be so openly
affectionate with a woman. Unfortunately, Nicholas had little time to reflect
on the matter.
    “Gavin,” Nicholas began, “ye will need to keep her from
screaming. A piece of wood-”
    “Nae,” Ella cut in. “I willll nae screeeam.”
    Nicholas and Gavin exchanged a look of disbelief, but
they did not want to upset her further by denying her request. Turning to
Tavish,